gina171

You don't look like you need surgery anymore! Wow! Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Surgery at 9:30 on August 18, discharged 3:00 on August 19. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi all, so my recovery since August 18th has been pretty uneventful with one exception: I have never gotten my 64 oz. hydrating fluids goal achieved. I have no problem with Protein drinks or my purées, only problem is getting in the hydrating fluids. Whenever I drink the clear hydrating fluids (Water, decaf tea, Crystal Light) I can get a sip of about 1.5 teaspoons in no problem. But if I try to take another sip within 5-10 minutes I get a strong pain/pressure in the middle of my abdomen, strong enough that it makes me stop and wince. It does not hurt in my pouch which is much higher up. The pain is about 6-7 inches above my belly button and feels like tight gas pressure. Sometimes I will then chew 2 GasX tablets and sure enough, that helps and I burp. But I can't chew GasX all day, there's a limit of 4 tablets a day. Is it possible that almost 3 weeks out I still have huge amounts of gas sitting in my intestines, and these get irritated when I try and drink? I just can't understand then why sipping Protein Drinks wouldn't cause a problem, nor does eating 1/4-1/3 cup of Puree? Any help or advice would be appreciated. I am worried about not getting enough fluids....yesterday I only got in 36 ounces and I felt tired and bleh today....I bet that's not a coincidence. Most days I struggle to hit 45 ounces, but I need to find a way to get more in. Any tips you have on how you succeeded with this would be great. And has anyone else felt this pain, lower than their pouch? Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I tend to have room temperature drinks, but those even feel "cool". Maybe I should try hot beverages only for a while? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

For a grab and go, you might really like the Mini Baby Bel Light cheese, it's the little round one wrapped up in wax. They keep outside the fridge for about 2 hours bc of the wax. Anyway, super dense, yummy, and a good base in your stomach. They are quite cheap at Costco and Sam's, but expensive in the supermarket. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Trying to be helpful here, honest, but your perceptions on amounts are way off. One small banana is not even close to 4 tablespoons, it is way, way more......there are 4 tablespoons in 1/4 cup. No way a small banana is just 1/4 cup, unless it is one of these teeny specialty finger bananas: And if you program says 4 tablespoons of banana as a SIDE, that means you have to eat your protein first, you can't skip the protein first rule and expect good results. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Yep, that's where your gallbladder is located. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I know this sounds awful but, you're very very close at a 39 BMI....how many pounds are you from a 40 BMI? Usually it's a 5-10 pound difference. Check it on a BMI calculator online. If it were me....if I went away on a vacation and ate and drank as I pleased pre-op, I would gain that much without meaning to. If I were that close to a 40 BMI, I would let myself get to a 40 BMI since then I could have the surgery in the US, and have easy access to pre-op and post-op care from my surgeon. Pre-op and post-op care isn't usually part of the experience when you have surgery out of the USA. I know it's an ethical issue, but.... I would lean that way for my health. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I really appreciated the support groups as a pre-op.....it was a chance to actually talk to several people who had real life experience with the surgery. Talking with those post-ops was absolutely invaluable. My first meeting as a post-op will be later this month, and I plan on going for at least the next year. Will I get something out of it? I am sure I will. But I am not going just because I might get something out of the meetings. I am also going because the pre-ops need veteran and recent post-ops there, so they can ask questions to someone who has actually gotten up on the operating table. There were a lot of questions I wanted/needed to ask a post-op (not a nurse or a surgeon) a few months ago. I kind of think it's only fair that I return the favor if someone needs the same from me. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Does your doctor have a plan for you? Is today any better? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

You're fantastic! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

At 2 weeks out, banana was on my food list.....BUT only a 1" piece, mashed. My program stresses here are the portions, don't eat more than that til we say you can eat more, end of story. Plus we were warned that bananas are very high in sugar and can cause dumping, so proceed with caution. Just because bananas are allowed on your program, does that mean they want you to keep eating as much banana as you want? This is where I think it would be hard to be a NUT, bc you can give people an inch and they can take a mile. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Abby, Abby, Abby.....you need to write a book. Seriously, even if you self-publish on Kindle. I purchased more than one WLS memoir on Kindle from people who self-published, and none of them had the gifts of reflection, insight, and command of prose that you have. You're talented, don't hide it. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Oh geez, I don't know exactly what to tell you. At my pre-surgery class (a week before my surgery on August 18), I was literally gleeful. If the surgeon had opened the door to our meeting room and said he had a last minute surgery cancellation for that afternoon, I would have leapt out of my chair and run to him. But I am 49, and my BMI was 50, and I have spent my whole life feeling like I was hidden deep inside this body that did not match my soul. I was not only emotionally weary, I was becoming physically weary as well. Maybe you don't feel this way? Maybe obesity has been a recent change in your life? I don't want to tell you to reconsider, but you seem to have some real reservations that you should at least wade through fully. Do you have a therapist you could reach out to? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Mazel tov!!!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

How are you today? Can't stop thinking about you. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

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Damn, you've got your act together! Looks like you're ready for Armageddon! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

You poor thing, that photo of you looking so forlorn and exhausted makes me want to cry. And makes me want to strangle your doctor. Thank God your husband is there. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Yes, Duke Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery is in Durham, North Carolina (near Raleigh). They have 5-6 fantastic, permanent surgeons (who are also professors of surgery at Duke), and they also have a year-long fellowship program where they accept less than 6 doctors/fellows a year and give them a very intensive education on Bariatric Surgery. These fellows then go on to be leaders in the field. These are not surgeons who took a weekend workshop on these procedures and began practicing (believe it or not, that happens and is totally legal).....at Duke they eat, sleep, and breathe bariatric surgery. Whoever you work with, ask if they are fellowship-trained. You want that level of commitment and study. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

The sleeve evolved the same way new drugs and surgical protocols evolve.....because surgeons and researchers are constantly looking for new ways to serve people and change health outcomes....just as they should! They're not complacent and are driven to pursue new ideas in the hopes of helping more people. And I'm glad they do just that! (and I had RNY!) Just look at all the people here who didn't want the RNY for their own reasons, but who were happy to get the sleeve and as a result, hVe changed their lives! Thank God for the surgical pioneers who developed the sleeve, they've saved countless lives. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

A very nice woman I know --who is also morbidly obese -- told me she had saved me something she'd received in the mail, that she thought I would like. Then handed me 2 catalogs of high end plus size clothing. And my first thought was, 'I don't want to wear clothes in these sizes ever again.' And that started the ball rolling. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I was driving myself insane with the same question earlier this summer. My BMI was 50, I am 49 years old. Bypass seemed so much more extreme to me, so much to heal, I was afraid I wouldn't heal right inside (My mother never healed correctly from a cancer surgery years ago and I was terrified that I would fare the same....). What swayed me were the 5 year weight loss numbers for for RNY and VSG that my program has has seen, and they were very different. Not close. The 2 year numbers were practically the same, but not the 5 year numbers. And my program is seriously solid, with lots of pre-op and post-op follow up, high numbers of people coming back for follow ups whether they're successful or not. Then I realized my mother had been highly non-compliant with her nutrition and Water intake after surgery, i.e.: would refuse food completely every other day and then would drink maybe 16 oz of water a day. And stayed in bed all day, unless she needed the rest room. For months at a time. Once I realized I would never do that, I was less afraid of healing. My RNY recovery has been smooth, and I feel like I have given myself the best possible chance of achieving my goal of serious weight loss and health. But....I am super motivated and maybe I would have been as happy with the sleeve. I feel I made the right decision for me. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

If you read these two books thoroughly, you'll get most of the info you would get in the classes. Don't let the titles sway you, they are solid resources. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Inspiring! And what a beautiful place to live! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App